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The high jump requires competitors to jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights. It has been contested since the Olympic Games of ancient Greece. Over the centuries since, competitors have introduced increasingly more effective techniques to arrive at the current form. The Fosbury Flop, named after Dick Fosbury, in which the athlete jumps backwards, head first and facing upward, gradually replaced the straddle jump. This technique is now used by most high jumpers.

The approach of the high jump may actually be more important than the take off. If a high jumper runs with bad timing or without enough aggression, clearing a high bar becomes more of a challenge. The approach requires a certain shape or curve, the right amount of speed, and the correct number of strides. The approach angle is also critical for optimal height. A greater run speed allows a greater part of the body's forward momentum to be converted upward.

Each athlete can choose what height they would like to enter the competition. Once they enter, they have three attempts to clear the height. If a height is cleared, the jumper advances to the next height, where they will have three more attempts. Once the jumper has three consecutive misses, they are out of the competition and the highest height they cleared is their result.

Once the athlete enters the competition, they can choose to pass heights. If an athlete achieves a miss on their first attempt at a height, they can pass to the next height, but they will only have two attempts at that height, as they will be out once they achieve three consecutive misses. Similarly, after earning two misses at a height, they could pass to the next height where they would have only one attempt.

In competition the winner is the person who cleared the highest height. In case of a tie, fewer failed attempts at that height are better: i.e., the jumper who makes a height on his/her first attempt is place ahead of someone who clears the same height on the second or third attempt. If there still is a tie here, all the failed attempts at lower heights are added up, the one with the fewest number of total misses is declared the winner.

If still tied a playoff is held. Starting height is the next height after the last height successfully cleared. If all the competitors clear the height, the bar is raised 2 cm (1 in), if they fail the bar is lowered 2 cm (1 in). That continues until only one competitor succeeds in jumping that height, and is declared the winner.

Men

2012 Olympic Champion: Ivan Ukhov (RUS)

Olympic Record: 2.39m – Charles Austin (USA - 1996)

World Record: 2.45m – Javier Sotomayor (CUB – 1993)

British Record: 2.37m – Steve Smith (1992/3); Robbie Grabarz (2012)

Women

2012 Olympic Champion: Anna Chicherova (RUS)

Olympic Record: 2.06m – Yelena Slesarenko (RUS – 2004)

World Record: 2.09m – Stefka Kostadinova (BUL – 1987)

British Record: 1.97m – Isobel Pooley (2015)

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